Pharos Lighthouse of Alexandria Contact Us About us Tour Egypt aims to offer the ultimate Egyptian adventure and intimate knowledge about the country. We offer this unique experience in two ways, the first one is by organizing a tour and coming to Egypt for a visit, whether alone or in a group, and living it firsthand. The second way to experience Egypt is from the comfort of your own home: online. Pharos Lighthouse of Alexandria Pharos Lighthouse of Alexandria by Jimmy Dunn So impressive was ancient Egypt's building efforts over the pharaonic period that it commanded two wonders of the ancient world. One, the Great Pyramid of Giza , was built near the beginning of Egyptian history, while the second, Seventh Wonder was mostly built by one of Egypt's last pharaohs, Ptolemy I Sorter , though he died prior to its completion. While the first still stands, the latter was destroyed, almost certainly by an earthquake. This was Pharos Lighthouse of Alexandria , which of the vanished wonders of the ancient world, was the last built and the last to remain standing. Pharos Lighthouse stood on the eastern point of Pharos Island some distance from the city center of Alexandria .

Constructed at the beginning of the third century BC over a period of about twelve years and at an enormous cost and using considerable slave labor, Pharos Lighthouse was completed and inaugurated by the first Ptolemy's son, Ptolemy Philadelphus , in 283 (some say 279 BC, when Ptolemy Philadelphus held a festival to honor his parents). Prior to its destruction, it underwent a number of modifications by later rulers. The architect was Sostratos, a Greek from the Asia Minor city of Cnidus, whose name also appears on the sanctuary of Appolo at Delphi and on Delos. Though only the king's name was allowed on buildings erected during their reigns in the period, Sostratos got around this by also carving his own with a dedication, which was then covered with plaster. The consecration in honor of Ptolemy was then carved into the plaster, which over time peeled away leaving only Sostratos dedication, which provides, "Sostratos of Cnidus, son of Dexiphanes, to the savior gods, for sailors. The lighthouse was apparently a tourist attraction from the very beginning.

We are told that food was sold to visitors at the observation platform at the top of the first level. A smaller balcony provided a view from the top of the eight-sided tower for those that wanted to make the additional climb. The view from there must have been impressive as it was probably 300 feet above the sea. There were few places in the ancient world where a person could ascend a man-made tower to get such a perspective. The lighthouse was approached first through the Heptastadion at the entrance to Alexandria 's harbor. The Heptastadion was a solid granite wall that extended the length of seven stadiums and connected the city with Pharos Island. Much of what we know about the structure of the lighthouse comes from a German scholar named Hermann Thiersch, who authored a book on the topic that remains one of the best reference works on Pharos Lighthouse to this day. There was no real lack of representations of the Lighthouse for Hermann Thiersch to use in his studies of the structure, for it was depicted on coins, mosaics and small models of it were also available. While all of these agree as to the building's basic design, none provide much detail.

On the other hand, there is a surprising lack of descriptions by ancient writers and in fact most come from Arab travelers. Many of these, however, combine precise details mixed with wild fantasies. While they provide some good information on the lower levels of the tower, they provide little valuable information about the upper levels and almost nothing concerning the light source. In fact, by the medieval period the upper section had already been destroyed. However, some of their accounts are interesting. Ancient travelers speak, sometimes of a mirror and sometimes even of a huge lens designed to increase the range and visibility of the light, but these descriptions frequently come from travelers who visited the structure after the top section was already lost. One story states that this mirror used in the beacon could be used as a weapon to concentrate the sun and set enemy ships ablaze as they approached. Another tale says that it was possible to use the mirror to magnify the image of the city of Constantinople from far across the sea to observe what was going on there. Both of these stories seem implausible, though.

A Moorish geographer from Spain, Idrisi, who visited the tower in 1115 AD, was so impressed with the structure that he numbered all of its stairs and measured the height of its balconies, bazaars and tower. Fifty years later, another Morrish scholar, undertook an examination of the tower and tells us that the base tier rested on massive blocks of red granite and that the blocks were joined not by mortar but by molten lead so as to reinforce the structure against the heavy pounding of the sea. Pharos Lighthouse is consistently depicted and recorded as being a monumental edifice with three tiers, consisting of a lower quadrangular one, surmounted by an octagonal layer and topped by a cylindrical section. The approach to its entrance was by way of a long ramp with vaulted arcades. Within, an apparently large spiral ramp led to some fifty service rooms and also allowed pack animals to bring firewood up to the third tier to feed the fire that acted as the light source. According to the Moorish travelers, the building was 300 cubits high.

Because the cubit measurement varied from place to place, this could mean that the Pharos stood anywhere from 450 to 600 feet in height, although the lower figure is more likely. Some modern interpretations of these measurements provide that the lowest square, measured about 55.9 m (183.4 ft) high with a cylindrical core; the middle octagonal with a side length of 18.30 m (60.0 ft) and a height of 27.45 m (90.1 ft); and the third circular 7.30 m (24.0 ft) high. The total height of the building including the foundation base was about 117 m (384 ft), equivalent to a 40-story modern building. Supposedly, the light from the tower could be seen from almost 100 miles out to sea, though this seems a little far fetched. Even Thiersch's work is suspect, with a hot fire burning beneath a copula supported on columns. One must wonder how the stonework would not crack under the heat of a constant fire.

Yet, in several texts a statue is mentioned that surmounted the lighthouse and from a poet named Poseidippos of Pella, who lived in Alexandria during the third century BC, we learn that this statue almost certainly depicted Zeus the Savior, though he may have been accompanied by Poseidon, the lord of the waves. However, others have suggested that two statues depicted the Dioscuri, who were the twin sons of Zeus and Leda and protectors of seafarers. In fact, a gem which has recently been examined suggests that in fact the beacon on the lighthouse may have been open and the statue, or perhaps a number of statues may not have surmounted the building but stood on a lower level. Irregardless of the beacon and statues, many scholars now believe that the lighthouse did not take on a purely Greek style, as it has so often been portrayed. The Ptolemies mixed their own culture with that of the Egyptians, and in building the lighthouse, it is now believed that they probably borrowed from the pharaonic tradition, using Egyptian stone, though the stone may have been covered in white marble.

It must have been a very solid building, for it survived for nearly two millennia (until the fourteenth century AD), making the better of violent storms and even large titles waves, such as one that affected the eastern Mediterranean in 365 AD. Only earthquakes finally got the better of it. Between 320 and 1303 AD, there were twenty-two earthquakes that shook Alexandria that were severe enough to be mentioned by ancient writers. During this period, we have considerable records regarding the structure's life. In 796, the lighthouse may have lost its upper tier, which apparently went without repair for about a century. We are told that afterwards, Sultan Ibn Tulun (868-884) built a mosque with a dome in its place. However, this seems to conflict with Idrisi's report that the structure still operated as a lighthouse in his visit in 1115 AD. The account of this mosque may come from an unlikely tale that part of the lighthouse was demolished through trickery. The story goes that in 850 AD, the Emperor of Constantinople, a rival port, devised a clever plot to get rid of the Pharos.

He spread rumors that buried under the lighthouse was a fabulous treasure. The caliph supposedly ordered the building to be torn down, and as the Arab workers began dismantling the cylindrical tower, the huge mirror of polished metal slipped away from its base and crashed into the sea. The beacon chamber was then stripped down as well as the eight-sided middle section and its two balconies. With only the base of the Lighthouse remaining, the caliph realized that he had been tricked and halted further destruction. He then ordered his workmen to start rebuilding the tower, but since the damage was now too extensive, the project had to be abandoned and instead of a tower, a crude mosque was constructed. Idrisi's report appears to completely negate this tale, though there are a number of reports of such a mosque surmounting the second tier. In 950 and again in 956, parts of its surface cracked and to stabilize it, the lighthouse was reduced by some 22 meters in height.

In 1272, the famous Sultan, Salah el-Din (Saladin) undertook restoration work, but alas, his work was in vain because on August 8th, 1303, a major earthquake shook the whole eastern Mediterranean. This was to be the end of the Seventh Wonder of the ancient world, as attested to by a maritime map preserved at Montepellier that dates the quake and notes that the lighthouse was totally destroyed. Actually, there remained some ruins of the structure for decades to come. A traveler named Ibn Battuta visited Alexandria twice, once in 1329 and again in 1346. In the first visit, he was still able to climb the ramp and reach the door of the tower, but on the second visit, the lighthouse was in such ruins that he could no longer get near it. These ruins remained for just over a century, until the Mamluk sultan Qait Bey finally had them cleared away in order to construct his fort which still stands there today. Supposedly, it uses some of the stone blocks form the Lighthouse in its walls. However, the story of Pharos Lighthouse does not end here.

In 1962, a young diver searching for fish at a depth of 24 feet, spotted fragments of an immense statue, one piece alone measuring more than 20 feet in length. Egyptian naval divers, together with expert from Alexandria 's Greco-Roman Museum were summoned to the area and verified the young man's report, concluding that the sculpture was a fragment of the colossal statue of Poseidon. Then, in the fall of 1994, a team of archaeological scuba divers under the direction of Jean-Yves Empereur, also located very large blocks of stone that are believed to have been a part of the lighthouse, though there is a profusion of objects superposed from different periods. Some of this material came from structures in the Nile Delta and from Heliopolis and may have been used in the lighthouse, though there is a growing notion that the Pharos might have been a part of a greater complex with both civic and religious functions.

However, it is known that, after the Cypriot king, Pierre I de Lusignan, sacked Alexandria over two days in 1365, the Mamluk rulers of Egypt attempted to block the entry to the eastern harbor by jettisoning rubble from the crumbling ancient city. This fact might have provided a partial explanation for the wealth of remains lying in this patch of sea but it was not sufficient to account for the presence of certain massive blocks weighing between 50 and 75 tons. Furthermore, the disposition of the largest blocks, running in a north-easterly line from the foot of the fort, firmly suggested a monument of considerable size and height falling in to the sea. This has convinced researchers that they have indeed found the remains of the lighthouse. Some of the remains, including sphinxes, columns, capitals, colossi and fragments of inscribed obelisks, together with two massive segments of the lighthouse, are now on exhibit in an open-air museum near Kom el-Dikka in Alexandria . So far, some 2250 blocks have been plotted and archaeologists believe there are at least 500 more to be registered.

Though many issues surrounding Pharos Lighthouse remain mysteries, perhaps someday we will have a much more complete understanding of this Seventh Wonder of the ancient world. References: Pharos Lighthouse | City Life | Time Travellers | Friends and Heroes Pharos Lighthouse Episode 5 Did you know that this lighthouse was one of the seven ancient wonders of the world? The lighthouse is situated on what was the Island of Pharos. The causeway that was built to the island from the city of Alexandria created the harbour. The first lighthouse on the site was started in 290BC by Ptolemy Soter, a commander in the army of Alexander the Great. The city of Alexandria is named after Alexander, famous as ruler of Ancient Greece and leader of their conquering armies. The lighthouse acted as a landmark which could be seen far out at sea. Unlike modern lighthouses, which have sophisticated lights and lenses, the Pharos lighthouse would have relied on a fire at the top at night and smoke during the day, along with the sun reflecting from the walls.

Historians estimate that the lighthouse was between 115 and 135 metres tall and stood on this site until the 14th Century when it was destroyed by a series of earthquakes. Parts of the lighthouse were found on the sea bed by divers in 1994, and you can see more on satellite images of the area. The lighthouse would have been very impressive indeed and even appeared on Roman coins. Click the picture to see a larger version - you might want to save it or print it too! Pharos of Alexandria | ancient lighthouse, Alexandria, Egypt | Britannica.com Pharos of Alexandria lighthouse Pharos of Alexandria, one of the Seven Wonders of the World and the most famous lighthouse in antiquity. It was a technological triumph and is the archetype of all lighthouses since. Built by Sostratus of Cnidus, perhaps for Ptolemy I Soter , it was finished during the reign of Soter’s son Ptolemy II of Egypt in about 280 bce.

The lighthouse stood on the island of Pharos in the harbour of Alexandria and is said to have been more than 350 feet (110 metres) high; the only taller man-made structures at the time would have been the pyramids of Giza . Much of what is known about the structure of the lighthouse comes from a 1909 work by Hermann Thiersch, Pharos, antike, Islam und Occident. According to the ancient sources consulted by Thiersch, the lighthouse was built in three stages, all sloping slightly inward; the lowest was square, the next octagonal, and the top cylindrical. A broad spiral ramp led to the top, where a fire burned at night. Pharos of Alexandria. Overview of the Pharos (Lighthouse) of Alexandria. Contunico © ZDF Enterprises GmbH, Mainz Some descriptions report that the lighthouse was surmounted by a huge statue, possibly representing either Alexander the Great or Ptolemy I Soter in the form of the sun god Helios. Though it was well-known earlier, the Pharos does not appear in any list of wonders until the 6th century ce (the earliest list gives the walls of Babylon instead).

In the Middle Ages sultan Ahmed ibn Touloun replaced the beacon with a small mosque . The Pharos was still standing in the 12th century, but by 1477 the Mamlūk sultan Qāʾit Bāy was able to build a fort from its ruins. Illustration of the Pharos of Alexandria by Maerten van Heemskerck. Bettmann/Corbis The Lighthouse of Alexandria The Lighthouse of Alexandria One of the 7 Wonders of the Ancient World The Lighthouse of Alexandria, also called Pharos. (Photo by DEA Picture Gallery / Getty Images) Share By Jen Rosenberg The famed Lighthouse of Alexandria, called Pharos, was built around 250 BCE to help mariners navigate the harbor of Alexandria in Egypt. It was truly a marvel of engineering, standing at least 400 feet tall, making it one of the tallest structures in the ancient world. The Lighthouse of Alexandria was also solidly built, standing tall for over 1,500 years, until it was finally toppled by earthquakes around 1375 CE. The Lighthouse of Alexandria was exceptional and considered one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.

Why Did Alexandria Need a Lighthouse? The city of Alexandria was founded in 332 BCE by Alexander the Great . Located in Egypt, just 20 miles west of the Nile River , Alexandria was perfectly situated to become a major Mediterranean port, helping the city to flourish. Soon, Alexandria became one of the most important cities of the ancient world, known far and wide for its famous library. The only stumbling block to making Alexandria great was that mariners found it difficult to avoid the rocks and shoals when approaching Alexandria’s harbor. continue reading below our video What are the Seven Wonders of the World To help with that, as well as to make a very grand statement, Ptolemy Soter (Alexander the Great’s successor) ordered a lighthouse to be built. This was to be the first building ever built solely to be a lighthouse. It was to take approximately 40 years for the Lighthouse at Alexandria to be built, finally being finished around 250 BCE. What Did the Lighthouse of Alexandria Look Like? There’s a lot we don’t know about the Lighthouse of Alexandria, but we do know what it looked like.

Since the Lighthouse was an icon of Alexandria, its image appeared in many places, including on ancient coins. Designed by Sostrates of Knidos, the Lighthouse of Alexandria was a strikingly tall structure. Located on the eastern end of the island of Pharos near the entrance of Alexandria’s harbor, the Lighthouse was soon itself called “Pharos.” The Lighthouse was at least 450 feet high and made of three sections. The bottommost section was square and held government offices and stables. The middle section was an octagon and held a balcony where tourists could sit, enjoy the view, and be served refreshments. The top section was cylindrical and held the fire that was continually lit to keep mariners safe. At the very top was a large statue of Poseidon , the Greek god of the sea. Amazingly, inside this giant lighthouse was a spiraling ramp that led up to the top of the bottommost section. This allowed horses and wagons to carry supplies to the top sections. It is unknown what exactly was used to make the fire at the top of the Lighthouse. Wood was unlikely because it was scarce in the region.

Whatever was used, the light was effective – mariners could easily see the light from miles away and could thus find their way safely to port. How Was the Lighthouse of Alexandria Destroyed? The Lighthouse of Alexandria stood for 1,500 years -- an astounding number considering it was a hollowed out structure the height of a 40-story building. Interestingly, most lighthouses today resemble the shape and structure of the Lighthouse of Alexandria. Ultimately, the Lighthouse outlived the Greek and Roman empires. It was then absorbed into the Arab empire, but its importance waned when Egypt’s capital was moved from Alexandria to Cairo . Having kept mariners safe for centuries, the Lighthouse of Alexandria was finally destroyed by an earthquake sometime around 1375 CE. Some of its blocks were taken and used to build a castle for the sultan of Egypt; others fell into the ocean. In 1994, French archeologist Jean Yves Empereur of the French National Research Center investigated the harbor of Alexandria and found at least a few of these blocks still in the water. Sources: Curlee, Lynn. Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.

New York: Atheneum Books, 2002. Silverberg, Robert. The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. New York: Macmillan Company, 1970. History of THE SEVEN WONDERS OF THE WORLD bsx The pyramids: c.2500 BC The three pyramids at Giza, a few miles southwest of Cairo, are by far the earliest of Antipater's seven wonders. The largest of the pyramids , built as the tomb of the pharaoh Khufu (known to the Greeks as Cheops), dates from about 2500 BC. No building in the subsequent 4500 years of history has matched this pyramid for sheer bulk. Nearby, and only slightly smaller, are the pyramids created for Khufu's son and grandson, Khafre and Menkure. The next in date, among the Seven Wonders, follows after a very long gap of two millennia. It is the hanging gardens of Babylon.

bsy The hanging gardens of Babylon: c.580 BC No archaeological trace has been found of the hanging gardens, but tradition assigns them to the reign of Nebuchadnezzar in the last years of Babylon's greatness. One story says that he built them to console a wife, homesick in this flat region for the landscape of her childhood, the mountainous country of the Medes. They are 'hanging' gardens in the sense that the plants appear to float in the air, growing on different levels of artificial terraces irrigated from the Euphrates. The other five wonders are all connected with Greek civilization. They include the most sacred statue of the entire Greek cult, the image of Zeus at Olympia. bsz The statue of Zeus at Olympia: c.430 BC The statue of Zeus is the centrepiece of the god's temple at Olympia. About seven times lifesize, it shows him seated on a throne. In one hand he holds the winged figure which to the Greeks symbolizes victory; in the other is a sceptre surmounted by an eagle. The surface of the statue is gold and ivory.

In the eyes of the ancient world this is the masterpiece of the great sculptor Phidias, surpassing even his earlier statue of Athena (also of gold and ivory) for the Parthenon in Athens. The discovery of the workshop of Phidias at Olympia has enabled archaeologists to date the statue of Zeus to the years around 430 BC. Both the temple and the statue are destroyed in the 5th century AD. bta The temple of Diana at Ephesus: c.550 BC The fourth and fifth wonders of the world are in western Turkey. The temple of Artemis (or Diana) at Ephesus is built in about 550 BC by a man whose name has become a byword for wealth - Croesus, king of Lydia. In keeping with his image, the temple is outstandingly large. But it also contains a famous and unusual statue of Artemis. This Artemis is not the virgin huntress of Greek myth. She is a local fertility goddess, festooned with swathes of pendulous objects variously interpreted as breasts, eggs or even, it has been argued, testicles (the chief priest of Ephesus is always a eunuch).

The temple of Artemis is destroyed by Goths in AD 262. btd The mausoleum at Halicarnassus: c.350 BC Halicarnassus in southwest Turkey (the modern Bodrum) is selected as a new capital in the 4th century BC by the ruler of a small kingdom, Caria. The king is Mausolus, who dies in about 353 BC. His spectacular tomb, built for him by his widow Artemisia (she is also his sister), has given the world a new word, 'mausoleum'. It is adorned with sculptures, including a frieze of the battle between the Greeks and the female Amazons. The temple stands until the 12th century AD, when it is damaged by an earthquake and later plundered for building materials. Many fragments of the sculptures are in the British Museum. bte The colossus of Rhodes: 292 BC A giant bronze statue of Helios the sun god, known subsequently as the colossus of Rhodes, is put up to celebrate the city's survival of a long siege in 305-4 BC.

Reinforced with iron and about 30 metres high, it takes some twelve years (292-280 BC) to build and erect beside the harbour. The image of the colossus straddling the harbour entrance is a medieval invention. Before the end of the 3rd century BC an earthquake snaps the statue off at the knees. It lies, a humbled giant, until AD 653 when the Arabs capture the island. They break it up for scrap and require, it is said, more than 900 camels to cart it away. btf The pharos at Alexandria: c.280 BC The sun god Helios features also in the last of the seven wonders. This is the lighthouse put up on the island of Pharos at Alexandria (as a result pharos becomes the Greek word for any lighthouse). It consists of a three-tier stone tower, said to be more than 120 metres high, which has within it a broad spiral ramp leading up to a platform where fires burn at night. They are reflected out to sea by metal mirrors. Above the fires is a huge statue, of either Alexander or Ptolemy in the guise of Helios.

The lighthouse survives until the 12th century. In the 15th century a fort, still standing today, is built from its ruins. h2g2 - The Pharos Lighthouse - Edited Entry The Pharos Lighthouse Content from the guide to life, the universe and everything The Pharos Lighthouse 0 Conversations When Philo of Byzantium came to compile his list of the Seven Wonders of the World in 225 BC, he made a controversial choice. Until then, such lists had usually included the Ishtar Gate in the Walls of Babylon. However, Philo chose instead to include the great tower on the island of Pharos, variously known as the Lighthouse of Pharos or simply as 'the Pharos'. It was the last of the Wonders to be built, with Eusebius dating it to 283 BC. There were three main sections to the Lighthouse - the lowest was a 30m square, with statues of Triton at the corners. On top of that was an octagonal section, again with statues, and on top of that the third and highest part was a cylinder, probably topped by a single statue.

So famous was it that several modern languages including French take their word for 'lighthouse' directly from the name of the island on which it was built. Despite - or perhaps because of - its prominence in Western culture, many myths now surround the Lighthouse, and it sometimes seems that there is hardly a fact about it that is not disputed in some way. The Site Pharos was an island just off the coast of Alexandria, Egypt, forming a natural harbour. The Lighthouse was built on a peninsula of that island, Anfouchy 1 . A causeway called the Heptastadion 2 was built to link the island to the mainland, and over the years this has been enlarged enough to hold a sizeable residential area, making Pharos firmly part of the mainland. Purpose [The Pharos] is a rock, which is washed all round by the sea and has upon it a tower that is admirably constructed of white marble with many storeys and bears the same name as the island.

This was an offering made by Sostratus of Cnidus, a friend of the king's, for the safety of mariners, as the inscription says: for since the coast was harbourless and low on either side, and also had reefs and shallows, those who were sailing from the open sea thither needed some lofty and conspicuous sign to enable them to direct their course aright to the entrance of the harbour. And the western mouth is also not easy to enter, although it does not require so much caution as the other. - Strabo, c 26 - 20 BC Despite the modern name, most sources claim that the Lighthouse did not originally have any light source. The featureless coast of northern Egypt meant that ports needed a landmark to make them visible to sailors from a great distance, and the great tower at Pharos originally served this purpose during the day; it is claimed that it was only during the 1st Century AD that a light source was added to allow it to serve as a beacon at night as well.

However, the claim of a Lighthouse built without a light needs to be balanced against a poetic text written within a generation of the Lighthouse's original construction: As a saviour of the Greeks, this watchman of Pharos, O Lord Proteus, was erected by Sostratus, son of Dexiphanes, from Cnidus. For in Egypt there are no lookout posts on a mountain, as in the islands, but low lies the breakwater where ships take harbour. Therefore this tower, in a straight and upright line, appears to cleave the sky from countless stadia away, during the day, but throughout the night quickly a sailor on the waves will see a great fire blazing from its summit. And he may even run to the Bull's horn, and not miss Zeus the Saviour, O Proteus, whosoever sails this way. - Posidippus, writing during the reign of Ptolemy II (285 - 246 BC) The Structure The Pharos rises at the end of the island. The building is square, about 8.5m each side. The sea surrounds the Pharos except on the east and south sides.

This platform measures, along its sides, from the tip up to the foot of the Pharos walls, 6.5m in height. However, on the sea side, it is larger because of the construction and is steeply inclined like the side of a mountain. As the height of the platform increases towards the walls of the Pharos its width narrows until it arrives at the measurements above. On this side it is strongly built, the stones being well shaped and laid along with a rougher finish than elsewhere on the building. This part of the building that I have just described is recent because on this side the ancient work needed to be replaced. On the seaward south side, there is an ancient inscription which I cannot read; it is not a proper inscription because the forms of the letters are carried out in hard black stone. The combination of the sea and the air has worn away the background stone and the letters stand out in relief because of their harshness. The A measures a little over 54cm. The top of the M stands out like a huge hole in a copper boiler. The other letters are generally of the same size. The doorway to the Pharos is high up.

A ramp about 183m long used to lead up to it. This ramp rests on a series of curved arches; my companion got beneath one of the arches and stretched out his arms but he was not able to reach the sides. There are 16 of these arches, each gradually getting higher until the doorway is reached, the last one being especially high. - Yusuf Ibn al-Shaikh, 1166 Our best accounts of the Lighthouse come from a pair of 10th Century Arabic travellers, El Idrisi 3 and Yusuf Ibn al-Shaikh 4 , and these are consistent with its depiction on coins and glass gems. It was constructed of large (11m wide, 75 tonne) blocks of white marble - 'excellent stones of the type called caddzan 5 ' according to al-Idrisi. The doorways and lintels were probably formed of red granite. More recently, these ancient accounts have been questioned, as it has been suggested that the structure was made of pale granite rather than marble. The structure contained many windows, which were necessary to prevent the wind from toppling it.

The approach was a straight vaulted ramp, leading to a spiral ramp inside the first tier. This was used to allow pack animals to take fuel (probably naphtha 6 ) up to the base of the second tier, from where a winch arrangement transported the fuel to whatever light source was used. It seems that the viewing platform at the top of the first level was open to the public, with refreshments available. A smaller platform at the top of the second tier was also accessible to the determined (and fit!). Height One thing that all ancient accounts remark on is the sheer size of the structure. We know that the building was 300 cubits high - but since the definition of a cubit varied from place to place, we cannot be certain what that means. Most likely the Pharos was around 110m tall, though figures as high as 150m have been proposed. One proposed set of measurements gives the three tiers as 60, 18 and 7m tall respectively (counting from the bottom upwards) on a base 32m high, for a total height of 117m - around 40 storeys in modern terms, mostly filled with storerooms.

This would make it slightly shorter than the Pyramids of Khufu and Khafre at Giza, but taller than any other building at the time. The Third Tier Reports of the structure of the uppermost tier vary. In part, this may be because it was by far the most precarious, and was repaired several times due to earthquake damage, with alterations each time. One key difference is the identity (or even presence) of the statue or statues said to have topped it. It is most commonly said to have been a statue of Zeus the Saviour, though alternative identifications include Poseidon, both Zeus and Poseidon together, Zeus' two sons the Dioscuri, Alexander the Great or Ptolemy I. Or alternatively, the Lighthouse may have been open-topped, with the statues restricted to the lower levels. The Inscription Sostratos of Cnidus, son of Dexiphanes, to the saviour gods, for sailors. - Inscription on Pharos Lighthouse One interesting piece of trivia about the Lighthouse is that it was originally coated in plaster, bearing the name of Ptolemy II Philadelphos, who reigned during the final stages of its construction.

As the plaster aged and wore away, however, it revealed carved into the more durable stone underneath the name of the architect, Sostratus 7 . Forbidden by the Pharaoh to glorify himself, Sostratus had used trickery to ensure that his name would be the one etched forever on his masterpiece, whereas Ptolemy's would last for barely his own lifetime. Pliny 8 disagrees with this tale, simply saying that Ptolemy allowed Sostratus to inscribe his name on the Pharos. Others say that the inscription refers to the statue of Zeus, rather than the tower as a whole, or that Sostratus sponsored the project rather than being the architect. Molten lead was said to have been used as mortar, to strengthen the walls against the pounding sea. The reader will probably not be surprised to hear that this too has been disputed, and it may be that lead bands were used to reinforce the stones. The light source was said to have been amplified by a mirror or lens , making it visible from 300 stadia (about 56km) away, or even further.

Some stories claim that this lens could be used to see as far as Constantinople , or to set fire to ships at sea. Although the latter claims are obviously spurious, it can be hard to tell exactly where fact becomes fiction in accounts of the Lighthouse. The Demise The Lighthouse may have been seriously damaged in the Alexandrian War of 48/47 BC and repaired by Cleopatra . There is also a story - probably unfounded - that the Emperor of Constantinople planted rumours of treasure buried under the tower, tricking the Caliph of Cairo into dismantling it in 850 AD. Realising his mistake too late, the Caliph was only able to replace the upper stories with a mosque. However, this story conflicts with later reports of the Lighthouse as being fully functioning until at least 1183 AD. The primary danger to the Pharos was always from the ground it stood on. It was a large structure in an area prone to earthquakes , and it struggled against tectonic inevitability for most of its life. It was seriously damaged in 365, 796 9 , 950 and 956 10 AD.

Saladin attempted repairs in 1272 before the Lighthouse was finally destroyed by an earthquake in 1303. What was left of the remains were further damaged in 1326. In 1329, Ibn Battuta visited the site and could progress no further than the entrance to the first tier, at the top of the approach ramp. By his return in 1346, even that was impossible. Much of the rubble was re-used in the building of the Citadel of Qaitbay on the same site in 1480, so to that extent this is the most visible of the Wonders aside from the Great Pyramid. The Remains It was, therefore, with surprise that we, in turn, discovered the extent of the site: over an area of 2.5 hectares, 2,500 pieces of stonework of archaeological interest were scattered about: columns of all sizes, in their hundreds, column bases and capitals, sphinxes, statues, and some immense blocks of granite which, given where they lie, certainly came from the famous lighthouse.

- Jean-Yves Empereur, Centre d'Études Alexandrines, Alexandria In 1994, underwater achaeologists discovered remains on the seabed , including large blocks of granite and marble, and parts of a statue. These were identified as remains of the Lighthouse, although this identification is not undisputed. Contrary to traditional depictions of the Lighthouse, these are in a mixture of Greek and Egyptian styles, not purely a Greek one as depicted by Hermann Thiersch at the start of the 20th Century. Many of these predate the construction of the Lighthouse, and so either indicate that older materials were recycled in its construction (a common practice throughout Egyptian history) or that this is the remains of a later attempt to block the harbour. 1 Or Anfushi. 2 The name denotes the length of the causeway, 7 stadia or about 1,400 yards. 3 Abu Abd Allah Muhammad al-Idrisi al-Qurtubi al-Hasani al-Sabti. 4 also known as Abou Haggag Youssef Ibn Mohammed el-Andaloussi. 5 Hard limestone or marble.

6 A flammable liquid similar to paraffin/kerosene. 7 The -us ending of his name is the Latin form while the -os ending is the Greek form. 8 A famed Roman historian. 9 Losing its upper tier. 10 Again losing around 22m in height. Great and Old Lighthouses | Cheapflights Great and Old Lighthouses Welcome to Cheapflights The simple way to find cheap flights and hotels from all your favourite travel companies Lighthouses, landmarks built for a purpose, but have captured the imagination of designers, architects and tourists for longer than you would think. One of the Seven Wonders of The Ancient World (built in 3rd Century BC) was the Lighthouse of Alexandria in ancient Egypt on the island of Pharos, it is also known as Pharos of Alexandria. In its time it was one of the largest man-made structures on earth at about 400ft tall. Therein comes the name, whilst in English we say Lighthouse you will find if you ask what the word is in many other languages it will be a variation of pharos, eg Faro in Spanish, Italian.

Although long gone, destroyed through earthquakes and time, there are other examples of old but not quite so old beacons that are still in use today. Let’s take a look at a couple of them. The Tower of Hercules – Spain photo by Jon Díez Supat Standing in Galicia, North West Spain is an Ancient Roman lighthouse that is still in use today. The original Roman structure dates as far back as the 2nd Century, and it was restored with a neoclassical twist in the 18th Century with extra floors. Upon venturing inside you can still see much of the Roman work. It has been in constant use since the 2nd Century though so that makes what is thought to be the oldest still working lighthouse in the world. photo by T omás Fano Hook Head – Ireland photo by Harrygep Hook Head Lighthouse is situated on the hook Peninsular, Wexford, Ireland. Built about 800 years ago guarding the entrance to Waterford Harbour it is one of the oldest in the world still in use today. Originally built to 8m and ran by the monks of The Priory of Saint Augustine.

The English Civil War caused the lighthouse to be abandoned until 1665 when it was restored, enlarged to 24m and turned back on. photo by kiszka king The oldest lighthouse in USA is Sandy Hook standing in New Jersey. Built 1764. A light was needed to guide ships into New York Harbour and was indeed originally called New York Lighthouse. To still be standing today it has had to endure attempts at destruction especially during the Revolutionary War. Benjamin Tupper tried to destroy it to stop the British navigating, the British thus occupied it together with the thus further possibilities of damage. Due to a littoral drift on the coastline the lighthouse is a now one and a half miles inland from the land end. Main Image: by AlaBlu – Zanone Federico Great and Old Lighthouses was last modified: September 18th, 2015 by Paul Steele Like what you see? Find flights to Cork Prices found by our users for local departures to Cork

Question: The Ancient wonder of the Lighthouse on the island of Pharos was situated at the entrance to which harbour?
Answer: Alexandria